This is the County in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS Metro Area with the Most Deaths from COVID-19

The ongoing spread of the Delta variant is claiming lives and threatening a return to normalcy in the United States. So far, 605,780 Americans have died from the virus — more than the total number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined.

In the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula metropolitan area, located in Mississippi, a total of 665 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 170 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 185 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.

Though deaths attributable to the virus are less common across the metro area than they are nationwide, in some parts of the city the per capita death rate is more in line with the national average.

The broader Gulfport metro area comprises three counties or county equivalents — and of them, Hancock County has had the most COVID-19 fatalities per capita. So far, the per capita coronavirus death rate in Hancock County stands at 189 for every 100,000 people.

Though it has the highest per capita death rate in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula metro area, Hancock County ranks among the middle 50% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents with at least one COVID-19 fatality by death rate per capita.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of July 28, 2021.

These are all the counties in Mississippi where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).